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The Stryker, with a maximum speed of 65 mph, also fits the military's combat doctrine that calls for an integration of infantry and armored forces. The old M-113 proved itself slow in keeping up with Israel's modern tanks.

A modernization program for the M113 fleet would be in order. The M113A3 with improved suspension and upgrades to power train can keep pace with the Abrams and nothing in Israel can compare to the M1A2. If I was in Israel I would want to see the results of any live fire testing conducted at APG. In fact, I might want to buy a couple of Strykers and see how they withstand RPG's, and don't let them put the add on armor on the vehicles. Heck, it is almost 3 feet wider with that junk on it. Can you imagine trying to maneuver through a village with a vehicle that is 14 to 15 feet wide? Needs to have ground guides just to get around. Try that with snipers in the meighborhood.

Israel should wait until they see how our Strykers do in Iraq beginning in October. Our's are deploying without the Mobile Gun System (MGS) promised by General Dynamics the first time in 1980. That one still has not arrived so I don't understand why anyone would be surprised that they have not performed this time. Armaments seem to be a problem at General Dynamics.

The Isralies are paying $1.5 million of our money for each vehicle and we're paying $2.8 million for each vehicle with our money. I don't get that unless they got a discount for buying sight unseen. That's sort of like buying a pig-in-a-poke.

It strikes me (no pun intended) that an RPG HE would definitely take out the wheels on the Stryker. It also would be hard to miss, since there are so many of them. But what I am wondering is how the Stryker armor would stand up to a hit from the HESH RPG, or even how it might fare against HMG fire.

In an urban scenario, wouldn't there be fire from behind and above, as well? It looks to me that a Dingo type vehicle might be just as effective as the Stryker and a lot handier (and cheaper!) I frankly would hate to ride either one into an hostile alley.

I'm getting the picture that in urban warfare, the best transportation is sneakers, the best weapons: RPGs, scoped sniper rifles (day and night), and AK74s. All of which favor the homies, and not the visiting team. Perhaps we ought to do what we do best, and make sure potential enemies do not have any urban areas left. That's what these vehicles are apparently best suited for: sitting on a hillside 2 miles away, watching the AF reorganize hostile urban areas and the Army smooth out the rubble with artillery.